The Consequences
by Michelle285
Summary: Does the hostage situation have damaging consequences for the relationship Lanie and Esposito are trying to build?  Do they break up or grow stronger? Complete!
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Lanie or Esposito or any other characters. If it's recognizable, it's not mine._

_A/N: I very recently discovered my love for this ship. I was so very disappointed in Knockdown that they didn't show anything Lanie/Esposito at the end. So, I'm going to try to remedy that…I hope I can. Enjoy! _

"Kate, what happened?" Lanie asked, trying to look calm as she walked into the hospital waiting room.

Kate smiled at Lanie. "Don't worry, he's fine."

Lanie's eyes got slightly wider. "Who's fine?"

Kate couldn't help but roll her eyes at her best friend. "Esposito, of course. Ryan's fine too, but something tells me you're not as worried about him as you are about Esposito."

Lanie sighed. She _was_ worried about Esposito and she might as well let it be known. Kate knew about them anyway. "You promise he's fine? And how did you find out about us?"

Kate couldn't help but laugh. "You work with a bunch of detectives. Did you really expect us not to find out? We all know. And yes, Esposito is perfectly fine. Ryan got the brunt of the torture. He's got mild hypothermia."

Lanie wrinkled her forehead. She wasn't trying to argue with Kate, because she had hoped that Esposito would be fine. She wanted Ryan to be fine too, but now that she found they both weren't seriously hurt she was able to think a little more clearly. "Ryan has mild hypothermia and nothing is wrong with Esposito? How did he escape everything?"

Kate was going to tell Lanie about the marks around Esposito's neck from the noose, but she was interrupted by Castle's voice. "Really, are you going to continue calling him Esposito?"

Lanie turned to Castle and raised her eyebrows. "What happened to your hand?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "He decided to go all Chuck Norris on the guy."

"He was going to shoot you!" Castle exclaimed. He smiled at her and said in a quieter voice, "And we couldn't have that."

Lanie looked at them suspiciously while Beckett's cheeks reddened. "Is something going on between you two."

"Yes!" Castle exclaimed.

Simultaneously, Beckett replied, "No!"

"Now, why didn't I see that one coming?" Lanie asked the room.

"Are you all here for Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito?" A doctor asked the trio, stepping into the room.

"Yes, we are," Kate answered.

"They'll both be just fine," the doctor assured them, even though they kind of already knew that. "They were rather lucky. We are going to keep them here overnight, just in case complications arise, breathing problems and such, although we don't expect that to happen. If you would like to go see them, they are in room 409, down the hall."

The doctor then left the three to their own devices.

They began to walk silently down the hall to Ryan and Esposito's room. "Where's Jenny?" Castle asked, breaking the silence.

"She's on her way," Kate answered. "I called her right after I called Lanie and she said she would be here as soon as she could, she was stuck in a traffic jam."

They arrived at the room fairly quickly, it really wasn't too far from the waiting area.

As they began to open the door, Kate remembered she hadn't told Lanie about the marks on Esposito's neck. She bit her lip. This could get ugly, for everyone concerned.

"How are you guys?" Kate asked, walking into the room.

"Ready to get out of here," Ryan grumbled.

"They didn't need to keep us overnight," Esposito agreed. "The doctor said himself he didn't think anything was going to happen in one night."

Castle and Lanie had walked in behind Kate and while Castle was showing off his bandaged hand to Ryan and explaining to him Jenny's delay, Lanie was staring at Esposito. There were bandages covering his neck and she could only imagine what was under them, not that she wanted to know.

Kate looked over at Lanie and cringed when she saw the look on her best friends face. She couldn't exactly read it, but it looked to be a mix between anger, fear and repulsion. Kate knew the repulsion was not directed at Esposito, or even her, but more at the man who would put the two partners through this.

Kate began, "Lanie—"

"You said he was fine!" Lanie cried, suddenly not caring about the other people in the room.

"He is! I was going to tell you but…" Kate trailed off as Lanie swiveled on her heel and walked out of the room.

Kate turned back towards the occupants of the room, who were now bathed in an awkward silence. She didn't know what to say. She knew everyone in the room understood why Lanie acted the way she did, but she also knew no one knew what to say.

Esposito was, surprisingly, the one to break the silence. "So, you guys going to try to spring us tonight or what?"

Ryan smiled at his friend, knowing that they all needed this distraction. Lanie's reaction was only more proof at how close the situation had come to having a completely different ending. "Yeah, you really can't expect us to stay here all night, can you? This place is worse than jail!"

Kate and Castle laughed, but while Castle was willing to try some James Bond rescue attempts and a pretty interesting smuggling theory, Kate wouldn't budge. While she understood their pleas and really didn't think it was totally necessary for the two to be in overnight she would feel safer if they were being watched and she knew that between Jenny, Lanie (Kate firmly believed she would be back after everyone had left) and the doctors, the two would never be left alone for a minute.

_I know it's short and isn't much yet, but I promise it will get juicier. I had to set the stage first. I have the next two chapters written, so those should be up fairly quickly, and I'm going to try to keep writing if school and RL allow it! Please review and tell me if you like it so far. :) _


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I also don't own a line in here, and I'm sure you'll know which one when you see it (I couldn't resist though, I just had to include it)._

_ A/N: Okay, this chapter is kind of juicy…and kind of longer than my other one. This is where the real plot starts, I guess you could say. Enjoy! _

Lanie stood there looking at Esposito. He was asleep and everyone, except Jenny, was gone. Ryan, of course, was still there, but he was in the same predicament as Esposito, he had to be. Lanie briefly wondered what Jenny had done to get the nurses to let her stay the night. Lanie didn't really have much of a problem, she was a doctor after all, even though her job consisted of people who were already dead, and she knew many of the nurses and doctors here. They were only too happy to let her come into the room, because that meant one of the nurses could skip their shift.

She looked over at Ryan and had to fight back the urge to roll her eyes. She finally understood why Esposito mocked him so much. Ryan looked to be sleeping peacefully and Jenny was on the bed with him. They were curled around each other and looked to be completely content. She figured Ryan might need Jenny there since he wasn't sedated, because she was sure Ryan and Esposito were going to have to go see psychiatrists, for a little while at least. She was actually quite surprised neither one of them had woken up screaming. She knew quite a lot about the human brain and knew that when it suffered trauma it usually dealt with it at night and when people were at their least guarded.

Lanie sat down gently on Esposito's bed and tried not to wake him up. She looked over at him satisfied that he hadn't moved. The chair was over by Ryan's bed and she felt drained. She felt as though going to get it would require too much energy. As she continued to stare at Esposito, the bandages again caught her eye. She quickly looked away and squeezed her eyes shut. She had asked one of the doctors what had happened to him and when she was told she barely made it to one of the stalls in the bathroom before she lost the contents of her stomach.

Taking a deep breath, with her eyes still shut, Lanie reminded herself that Ryan and Esposito were still here, still breathing, still had a pulse, were still fine. They were so close to dying. She couldn't help but shiver. If something had happened to Esposito…well, how she felt when she thought about that might mean something she wasn't ready to analyze. She almost smiled as she thought about what Kate would say to that. They could be in denial together though, because Lanie was positive something had happened between her and Castle, but she was admitting nothing, just like always.

"Hey," Lanie heard from her side.

She turned and saw Esposito's eyes staring at her.

"Hey," Lanie responded. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No," Esposito assured her. "You okay?"

Lanie couldn't help but almost laugh as she got up off the foot of the bed to walk to the head. "You're the one laying in a hospital bed. I think I should be asking you that question."

Esposito brought his hand up to feel the bandage still wrapped around his neck. "I'm fine."

Lanie shook her head. "Boy, one of these days, Imma smack you so hard your head is gonna roll."

Esposito couldn't help but smile. No, that thought wasn't amusing, but he always loved to hear Lanie get mad. It was so hot! "For doing my job?"

"For almost getting yourself killed doing your job," Lanie corrected.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Esposito asked. "It's not exactly like I could help it. Nothing happened to me."

Lanie's face got softer. She brought her hand up to trace a bandage and felt her eyes began to burn. She quickly blinked a few times. "And you say nothing happened."

Esposito took her hand away from his neck and intertwined their fingers. He pulled on her hand to make her sit down and she obeyed.

When Esposito noticed Lanie wasn't looking at him, he tugged on her hand again. She shifted her eyes to his, so he began to speak. "I promise you, I'm fine. I was fine tonight and I will always be fine, querida."

"I was the ME on call tonight," Lanie said. "Kate called me and I thought it was strange that she was calling me, since she knew I was on call. If there was a body, I figured she'd know I'd be getting called. As soon as she told me it was you…I got an image of loading your lifeless body into a van. I thought of you lying on my table and how I would have to…" Lanie trailed off. Her voice had gotten weaker toward the end and even if she had known what words to use to continue she wouldn't have been able to.

Esposito had slid up to a sitting position during this conversation and he pulled Lanie toward him. She easily complied and rested her head against his chest, smiling when she heard his heart still beating. Esposito was a bit surprised when he felt something wet drop on his shirt, he never would've figured Lanie for a crier. On the other hand though, trauma can do that to people. He never would've thought himself a beggar, but tonight, when the guy was getting ready to shoot Ryan—Esposito quickly ended that thought. He was trying to keep those thoughts away. He just focused on Lanie in his arms and used one hand to stroke her hair.

Lanie's eyes were closed, but tears were still falling out of them. Her mind was still in the horrible vision she had when Kate called her. She pictured herself standing over Esposito holding a scalpel, getting ready to make the first cut. She pictured tears running down her face, contaminating all the evidence and the body. She pictured herself stitching him up and trying to come to terms with the fact that he was never going to open his eyes again. She couldn't and _wouldn't _picture the part in between the cutting and the stitching.

Lanie shivered again. She knew that part of being best friends and dating a cop was coming to terms with the fact that they might get shot, that they might get taken out of your life at any second. She thought she had come to terms with that, with Kate and the boys, until today. Lanie had never really thought about what that would mean for her, the ME. She had never really realized that she would be the one the others would come to for answers. She would be the one who had done the autopsy, the Y-incision. The one who was supposed to be able to tell the cause of death. The incident today told her she couldn't do it on someone she was dating, someone she might very possibly…love.

Esposito felt her began to withdraw, so he slowly moved his arms away, in case she wanted to pull out of them. Lanie did pull away and she swiped her hands across her face and under her eyes to make sure there was no evidence of her crying. Even as she was doing that, she wasn't really sure why. Esposito had already seen her tears.

"Sorry," Lanie whispered.

Esposito reached up and placed a gently kiss on her lips. "Totally acceptable."

Lanie closed her eyes and cursed herself for what she was about to do, especially with him in the hospital. She felt like a horrible person, but she knew it had to be done. She didn't want to do it, but she knew it would be better for both of them in the long run.

Lanie quickly made sure he didn't have her hands in his grip and then plunged ahead. "Esposito, I have loved every minute we have spent together, but I can't do it anymore." Lanie dropped a quick, last kiss on his lips and walked quickly out the door. She didn't stop to look back, because she was determined to get out of the hospital before her tears fell. If she had looked back, she would have seen Esposito staring after her with a look of loss and confusion on his face and blinking back the tears that suddenly threatened to fall.

_Are you shocked? I'm also not sure how I feel about Lanie and Esposito and how in character they are, but go with it. I have the next chapter written and I'm working on more after that, so hopefully you'll get one more quick update before I go MIA with school and such. So I really hope you guys can find it in your little hearts to review! Please? _


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I still don't own. _

_A/N: We've got a long chapter here! I hope you guys like this! Ryan's situation might be a bit OOC but I had to do it for this show to work. Lanie might be a bit OOC and Kate might be too…but I'll leave that for you to decide. I hope you enjoy! _

The next morning, when Kate walked into the hospital, she was surprised to find Ryan alone in the room.

"Where are Jenny, Esposito and Lanie?" Kate asked.

"Esposito got released," Ryan explained. "I got released too, but Esposito didn't have a ride home, so Jenny took him. He refused to ride in a car with the two of us though, so I'm stuck here until Jenny gets back."

"You should've called me!" Kate exclaimed. "I would've gladly taken him home. Why didn't Lanie do it?"

"She left last night," Ryan informed Kate. "After she broke up with Esposito."

"What?" Kate cried. She couldn't help but be surprised. That was completely out of left field. "What happened? I thought things were going really well?"

"They were," Ryan agreed. "From what I could gather, she got spooked. It was really strange. She came in here, mad at Esposito for getting himself hurt, then she cried for a few minutes because he got hurt and then she's breaking up with him."

"That's a girl for you," Kate said, smiling at Ryan's obvious confusion at Lanie's myriad of emotions. Kate had a million questions that she needed answered though. She began firing them at Ryan. "How did she look when breaking up with him? How did she look when she walked out? How did Esposito take it?"

"Whoa," Ryan said. "Slow down. I don't know any of that. You see, I was asleep. Well, I was supposed to be. I had woken up just before she came in, but I shut my eyes when she entered. I was trying to go back to sleep when I heard Esposito say something to her. I stayed awake and was going to listen because I thought it would be something juicy. I had hoped though for the other kind of juicy. Anyway, because they thought I was asleep, I had to keep my eyes closed throughout the whole thing. When I sneaked a peek at Esposito, there might have been actual tears on his cheeks. I didn't say anything, I just went back to sleep. I knew I had to ask this morning, to avoid suspicion, but he knew I already knew. I'm not sure how, he just did, so we didn't talk about it. I think that would be better all around for the next few, days, weeks, months at least."

Kate gave a half-hearted smile at Ryan's attempt to decipher how long it would take Esposito to get over this. She also smiled at the bond the two partners had. She knew it was there, but it reminded her of Castle and her. Kate shook her head to get that thought to flee. She had more important things to focus on right now. She was going to sit here with Ryan until Jenny got back and then she was going to go knock some sense into Lanie. Lanie had been trying to do it to her for years, it was time for Kate to return the favor.

-%

Lanie frowned when she heard the knocking on her door. She was in no mood to answer the door, but she knew she had to, especially when the knocking became more insistent. It was at that moment when she knew this person, whoever it may be, was not going to leave her alone. Lanie sighed, and paused her movie with one hand while putting the ice cream on the table with the other. She slowly rose up from the couch and walked to the door.

As soon as Lanie opened the door, Kate barged in. Kate was normally one to wait for an invitation, but not this time. Kate wanted to talk to Lanie and she was not going to let anything deter her!

"What were you thinking?" Kate asked as soon as Lanie had shut the door and turned around to face her.

The last thing Lanie wanted to do was talk about her impromptu break up the night before, so she resorted to some of Kate's methods. "What are you talking about?"

Kate had to roll her eyes after sitting down on the couch. "Lanie, please! Playing dumb doesn't work for you. You broke up with Esposito! Why?"

"Sure, just make yourself at home," Lanie grumbled. Kate was, after all, sitting on her couch after she had just barged into the house without so much as a hello.

Kate gave Lanie one of her patented glares. "I would like an answer, please! Why did you break up with Esposito?"

Lanie sighed. She decided to go for a lie this time. "I was wasting my time. I didn't love him and he didn't love me."

"You liar!" Kate shrieked. Lanie actually raised her eyebrows, not sure she had ever heard Kate sound like that before. "You are sitting here on your couch in sweatpants and a hoodie, classic break up clothes. You are eating chocolate ice cream, classic break up food. Cary Grant and Deborah Keer are also stilled on your TV screen in _An Affair to Remember_, a classic break up movie! Everything screams that you are sad about your break up, which wouldn't be the case if you didn't love him."

Lanie wrinkled her forehead. "Are you personally invested in this or something?"

"No!" Kate told her. "Unlike some people, I don't put my money in pools that go around the precinct. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that you and Esposito loved each other and you were an idiot and broke it off! What happened?"

Lanie rubbed her forehead. The headache that started after she left the hospital (probably from the tears) was growing larger by the second. "Can we please just drop this? Do you want to watch the rest of the movie with me?"

Kate narrowed her eyes at Lanie. Lanie pressed play on the remote and effectively ignored Kate.

Kate bit her lip. She knew what would make Lanie talk, but she wasn't sure she was ready to share such a thing. Kate finally decided she had to do it. Lanie and Esposito were wonderful together and she knew they really did love each other, no matter how much Lanie denied it. Kate also had many reasons to back it up, should Lanie continue to deny it.

Kate grabbed the remote from Lanie's hand and hit pause again. Lanie turned and glared, but Kate put the remote out of Lanie's reach and began talking. "Okay, let's play a game."

Lanie just sighed. She wasn't sure how much she wanted to fight Kate anymore. She was so tired of fighting her. On a good day beating Kate wasn't easy and Lanie was definitely not at her best right now. She did narrow her eyes at Kate though, Kate couldn't know Lanie was thinking of backing down. If she could just hold her ground a little longer maybe a miracle would happen and Kate would give up. _You do know who you're talking about, right?_ A voice in her head screamed at her. _Shut up!_ The other voice said in her head. She liked that one. It was the one that was justified breaking up with Esposito last night, while the other one was crying and still burst out in random fits sometimes.

"I'm sure you're familiar with it," Kate continued, the glare having the complete opposite effect, just making her want this answer more. "It's called, you show me yours and I'll show you mine."

Lanie's eyes widened and she looked at her friend.

"Granted, we're modifying it just a tad," Kate said. "We're changing it to, you _tell_ me yours and I'll tell you mine. You're so sure something happened between Castle and me? Well, I'll spill if you will."

Lanie closed her eyes. Kate would bring out the big guns. Of course she wanted some juicy gossip about Kate and Castle to tell…to tell nobody. She shared all her Kate/Castle gossip with Esposito. That didn't mean, though, that she didn't want to hear it.

Lanie struggled with herself for a few minutes. She wondered if anything really juicy did happen between Kate and Writer Boy, because Lanie knew her friend and she didn't just share juicy gossip randomly. Especially after denying the relationship for so long. She also didn't have anyone fun to tell the gossip to. She told Esposito everything she suspected and/or saw that had to do with Kate and Castle. On the other hand though, she knew Kate wanted to tell someone, she could see it in her eyes. Also, Lanie loved gossip in general and she would give a lot for some about her best friend and the writer boy. The two who had been having eye sex since the first day he started following her. And here Kate was, offering it up to her. The only problem was having to spill her story. Lanie sighed. She might as well. She could make her story sound as anti-climactic as possible. Lanie couldn't help but chuckle. That was a word only the good writer would use.

"Fine," Lanie finally agreed. "You first!"

Kate ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. She knew Lanie would agree, but that didn't mean she wanted to tell. Sure, she wanted someone else to know, but she was still nervous about telling Lanie. That would make it real! Kate's eyes closed and she said, "Castle and I kissed."

"I knew it!" Lanie cried.

Kate rolled her eyes. "What happened with you and Esposito?"

"We broke up," Lanie said simply.

"Lanie!" Kate exclaimed, exasperated.

"You told me what happened with you and Castle without details," Lanie pointed out. "So I told you what happened with Esposito and me, without details."

Kate groaned. "You are the most frustrating person I have ever met in my life."

Lanie couldn't help but laugh. Kate always made her laugh, regardless of whatever was going on in her life. "I live to serve."

"Our first kiss was for cover," Kate began.

"First kiss!" Lanie cut in. "There was more than one?"

"I was about to draw my gun on the guard, but Castle knew it was too early," Kate told Lanie. "So he grabbed me and kissed me. It was a short kiss, because he knew that I was going to react badly. The guard though, still wasn't buying our story, so I grabbed him and kissed him. This one was a bit more…um…heated. Needless to say, it distracted the guard."

"What exactly happened in this more heated second kiss?" Lanie asked.

Kate looked down at the floor. "Well, there was just more…something." Kate debated on whether to tell more, but she knew if she wanted Lanie to be honest with her, she had to return the favor. "He tried to French me and I might not have completely discouraged it. Our hands didn't exactly stay in a standard position for kissing…they kind of didn't stay anywhere for an extended period of time. And there might have been a moan…"

Lanie's face was excited. This was good enough to make her forget her problems for the time being. "You let him French you! And you made him moan!"

Kate didn't say anything and just continued looking at the floor, and suddenly Lanie understood. "He made you moan!" Lanie practically screamed. "Oh my God! What did you guys say when you talked about it?"

"We haven't," Kate told Lanie, her cheeks incredibly red. She wasn't really sure what made her tell her about the moan. She definitely didn't mean to blurt that out! That was supposed to stay secret. That is what happened when she tried to be honest.

"You haven't!" Lanie cried. "Why not?"

"It just hasn't come up," Kate said truthfully. It really hadn't. "But that's enough about me. It's your turn."

Lanie sighed. Up until this point she had almost forgotten she had part of the deal to uphold as well. "We broke up. And it's totally my fault. It's because of this stupid job I have."

Kate wrinkled her forehead. "You're not making much sense. I need more. You broke up with Esposito because you're an ME?"

"I broke up with Esposito because I'm _the_ ME," Lanie clarified. "I get called when there are bodies and I don't think it matters whose body it is or which side of the law they are on. When you called me the other night I was sure I was going to be loading a lifeless body in the van and for one horrible minute…I thought it was going to be his."

Lanie blinked a few times to keep the tears back. "I couldn't do it, Kate. There is no way I could ever make a cut on him." A tear fell, and though Lanie was sure there would be more to follow this lone one, she kept going. "At least, not now, not with us like this. That's why I had to break up with him. If we both get a chance to move on, if we both get a chance to find other people, maybe it won't hurt so bad if that ever happens."

Kate pulled Lanie into her arms. "Lanie, I can't completely understand where you're coming from since I'm not an ME and I don't deal with dead bodies, but you can't break up with Esposito on a chance. That makes absolutely no sense! If that's the case, you'd better stop being friends with all of us, because we could end up on your table at any minute!"

Lanie sighed as she pulled away from Kate. "It's different with you, Ryan and Writer Boy."

"How?" Kate asked. "How in the world is it different with us?"

"It just is," Lanie told Kate. Maybe it wasn't, maybe she wasn't making much sense to the rational mind, but what she was claiming was making sense to her right now and that's all that mattered. "I had to break up with him. There was no other way. We weren't that serious anyway."

"Bullshit, Lanie!" Kate argued. "Bull! Shit! You're crying. You can't sit there and tell me that you don't care about him, that you don't want to go back to him right now. Besides, I know you guys were serious."

Lanie shook her head and swiped at her eyes again. Geez, she was doing too much of this crying lately. "You can't say that. You weren't in the relationship, you don't know what was going on. We were just fooling around. In fact, you can't even say I broke up with him…we weren't really even together. We never talked about it."

"You don't have to talk about it to be together and you weren't just fooling around," Kate argued. "You want to know how I know?"

"You're going to tell me regardless of what I say, so why not," Lanie grumbled.

Kate rolled her eyes, but went on anyway. "You didn't tell me. You tell me everything. You tell me about _every single one_ of your guys. You tell me about the guy you met in the bar, the guy who flirted with you, the guy you slept with, the guy you didn't sleep with but wanted to and especially the guys you fool around with and how it needs to be better or how it was amazing. You never once mentioned Esposito. If it was just for fun, you would've told me the first night and you wouldn't have been with him for so long. Your fooling around guys last around a week at the most."

"You work with him," Lanie told Kate. "It would be awkward." Lanie was only partially lying. Yes, Kate did work with him and now that Lanie thought about it, it probably would've been awkward, but that never crossed her mind when fooling around, dating…_whatever_ it was that she was doing with Esposito.

Kate ignored Lanie. "In fact, Esposito didn't tell Ryan either. Ryan and Castle had a ball trying to get it out of him. In fact, a few days after they found out, Castle and Gina's argument came out on Page Six and Ryan used it to his advantage. He used it to make Esposito crack, but Esposito didn't. He looked very nervous when Ryan was talking about it and was obviously relieved when he realized he was talking about Castle. So, apparently, he didn't want to tell anyone either. And he always tells Ryan and Castle about his girls. I've heard them talk about their girls, Ryan talks about Jenny, Castle talks about his models and Esposito asks Castle if he can find any hot model for him. He hasn't mentioned anything about that lately. Castle even made a joke and said he had a hot girl for Esposito and Esposito got very flustered and ran off to get coffee. Castle and Ryan were so thrown off that they didn't even try to follow him."

"I threatened him," Lanie confessed. "I told him if anyone guessed it would be all his fault and I wouldn't speak to him for a very long while." Lanie cringed. At least she was fulfilling that part of the promise, no matter whether she wanted to or not.

"But he was scared when he thought they were going to find out. He didn't tell them about you because it wasn't just sex for him," Kate told her. "Granted, I'm not sure if he loves you or not, but I can honestly say he cares about you a lot and I think you need to explore that. It would be your loss if you don't."

Lanie bit her lip. Did she miss Esposito? Of course she did. She didn't realize how much she had come to rely on him beside her every night until last night. She didn't realize how much she had gotten used to him always being there for her, always ready to make her laugh with a joke or ready to pick her up when she was down. Could she just go crawling back to him though? Of course not. He could reject her, or worse yet, take her back. Then what would happen? She would still have these fears and there was nothing she could do to make them go away. She would be worried every time she got a call and every time he went out on a scene and she couldn't do that. She hadn't worried about him before because of just who he was and all the training he had, she was sure he was invincible. The incident last night had shaken the world she had built up for them and she knew she would never be able to get it back. She would worry about him all the time and if there was any feeling she hated it was worry for the ones she lo…the ones who were her friends.

Lanie swallowed and closed her eyes. "Kate, I just can't. I don't want to worry about him constantly."

Kate sighed. "I'll talk to Castle if you'll talk to Esposito."

Lanie couldn't help but smile. "No deal. Not this time. Talk to Castle if you want, but I won't talk to Esposito just because you talked to Castle."

Kate began to get up off the couch to signal she was leaving. She looked at Lanie. "And there's nothing I can say to make you want to talk to Esposito?"

Lanie shook her head. "Not a thing."

Kate opened the door and looked back at Lanie, trying her last resort. "He's hurting too, you know."

Lanie groaned and released her back from the rigid way she had been holding it all while Kate was here. She fell back on the couch and was laying flat when she called, "Wait!" Her eyes were squeezed shut and she was debating with herself again.

Kate gently closed Lanie's door and went back to sit down on the couch with her friend. Kate allowed a small smile, knowing Lanie wouldn't see it. She was hoping that statement would get Lanie to stop her. She sat in front of Lanie's feet and waited. She knew Lanie had something to say, whether Lanie knew it yet or not, or she wouldn't have called her back.

When Lanie opened her eyes again, they were glistening. "What do I do?"

Kate looked at her. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't want to hurt him," Lanie admitted. "I don't want to hurt anymore. I don't want to have to worry about him, but I'm not sure breaking up with him will stop me. I just want things to be easy."

"Things that are good never come easy," Kate told Lanie.

"What do you think I should do?" Lanie asked Kate. She really wanted her opinion and feedback on it all.

"I think you should go for it," Kate said truthfully. "At some point in the near future I'm probably going to see where Castle and I will end up. I think you should see where you and Esposito could end up. Why not be with him while he's still here. That way, if he ever does get seriously hurt, you'll get to know how it feels to love him."

"What if he won't take me back?" Lanie asked again. She had so many questions and so few answers.

Kate smiled, thinking about what Ryan said about Esposito's tears and thinking about how Esposito had been acting since he and Lanie got together. "For some reason, I don't think that will be a problem."

"If I am with him and he does get injured, I'm pretty sure it will hurt worse," Lanie mused.

"Or about the same," Kate admitted. "And that may be true. I know I don't live by this rule often if ever, but I do know that it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all."

Lanie looked at Kate. "And you're going to talk to Castle?"

Kate nodded and smiled. "And you're going to talk to Esposito."

"We should meet tomorrow for breakfast and we can tell each other how it went," Kate suggested.

"Assuming things go well…I think we should meet for lunch. A late lunch," Lane modified.

Kate laughed out loud. "Sounds good. You do realize this means we have to have our respective talks today."

Lanie swallowed and nodded. "I know."

"Alright," Kate said. "I'll get going so I can get on that and let you get ready and go too."

Lanie got up off the couch and went to the door to see Kate out. "Bye. See you tomorrow."

Kate turned around, grabbed Lanie's hand and squeezed it gently before she left. "You can do this, you know. See you tomorrow."

Lanie smiled as she closed the door. Kate always knew exactly what to say. Of course, that didn't make this any easier. Now that Kate was gone, she almost wanted to back out, but she knew she couldn't. She knew that if she didn't go see Esposito and try to rebuild what they had she would always wonder. She also knew that if Esposito ever got someone else, she would regret not trying it with him for the rest of her life. Lanie wrinkled her nose. Regrets were something she did not tolerate, so she was going to go!

Walking up to her room to change her clothes, take a shower and make herself look presentable she sighed. She almost wished her situation was like Kate's. At least Kate knew Castle loved her, she just had to convince Castle she was ready. Lanie shook her head. She was going to think Esposito did love her and after she convinced him she was sorry and serious they weren't going to have a problem. With that thought in her head, Lanie stepped into the bathroom, started the water for her shower and began to go over what she was going to say to Esposito.

_Well, what did you think? Hopefully it wasn't too painful to read. I haven't written the next chapter yet, but I'm home for the weekend, so I'll try to get something up tomorrow…although I think tomorrow's chapter might be Kate and Castle, but I'm really not sure yet! Please review friends! _


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: If you don't know by now, I'll say it anyway. I do not own!_

_A/N: I know, I know, it's been forever. I got really sick and ended up in the hospital and now I have tons and tons of make up college crap, so this is all I could write. I know you expected a talk, but I couldn't fit it in this chapter, because I don't have dialogue yet! I'll try to get it up soon! For now though, here's this chapter, enjoy! _

Kate wrinkled her forehead. What was she doing here again? Oh yes, she was going to talk to Castle about that kiss. Wait, why was she going to do that? Oh yes, because motorcycle boy was no longer in the picture, she owed it to herself, Lanie was expecting her to, and…the kiss was kind of amazing!

Kate couldn't help but roll her eyes at herself. She sounded like some girl in a situation comedy. She sounded like a girl in a romance novel. Only that type of girl would stand outside a man's apartment and justify standing here to themselves. Only that type of girl would be nervous about talking to a guy who had already kissed her and who had made it very plain that he liked her a lot. She was not that girl! Of course, since she was all those things she had just described she was finding it harder to deny that statement.

_Kate, this is stupid! Just knock on the door! The doorman let you in, if you leave now, you will be busted regardless_. It was true. There was no way she could leave and not have Castle know she was there.

Suddenly, the door to the loft flew open and both women jumped. "Oh!" Martha exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't expect you, dear. Did you knock?"

"Umm, not yet," Kate admitted. "I just got here."

Martha smiled at her knowingly. "Oh, of course. Richard is in his study." Martha opened the door wider so Kate could enter. Martha then seemed to reconsider. "On the other hand, if you would like to wait out here until you can gather up enough courage to actually talk to him, I'm not sure Alexis or Richard will be going out today, so you could knock on your own time."

Kate suspiciously narrowed her eyes at Martha. "Exactly how much do you know?"

"Far more than either of you think I do, dear," Martha told Kate. "I know he kissed you, I know he liked it very much and if you didn't feel the same way you wouldn't be here now."

Kate sighed. She sometimes wondered how this woman could be so knowledgeable about everything when she seemed so dramatic at times. Kate was also sure she didn't like Martha's inane knowledge one bit. She didn't move.

Martha couldn't help it she had to roll her eyes. "Go talk to him. You can't stand out here forever."

Kate suddenly knew how Castle felt when one of her many eye rolls was directed at him. She sighed again. She didn't expect to be this nervous. She didn't know why she was even having a problem. This should be easy. At the same time though, her mind kept screaming _This is Castle!_ This again was the source of the problem, because it was Castle, there were so many things that could go wrong! There were also so many things that could go right.

Martha could almost see the wheels turning in the younger woman's mind. How horrible, to be so afraid to go after what you want. "You can't be afraid forever, Kate. If you want him, you have to go after him. If he manages to hurt you again, I promise to kill him myself!"

Kate had to let a small smile appear on her face after that comment. She took a deep breath, nodded slightly and when Martha opened the door wider, Kate stepped into the loft.

Martha nodded her approval and began to walk out the door. "He's in his study. I would wish you good luck, but if I know my son, you don't really need it. He's been waiting for this day since he met you. Of course, he didn't really deserve it until he learned a bit about growing up and respect."

Kate had to smile again, because she agreed with Martha's every word. Now that she thought about it, maybe she didn't mind Martha's all-knowing power after all.

-%

Lanie waved to the doorman of Esposito's apartment building. She had become quite friendly with him lately. He was always letting her in even if Esposito didn't tell him she was coming. He had also let her in one day when Esposito wasn't even home yet.

"Missed you here last night, Miss Parish," he told her.

She smiled at him before she walked over to the elevator. "Javier wasn't even home last night."

The doorman nodded. "I know, but that's never stopped you before."

Lanie actually laughed out loud. "He wasn't coming home last night though."

"Oh yeah," the doorman remembered. "I saw the ugly bruises on his neck. He never told me exactly what happened. Did he have to stay in the hospital overnight?"

Lanie nodded and spun on her heel, intent on getting to the elevator. She had no desire to be reminded of last night and Esposito's stay in the hospital, or what had happened while he was there. She was going to have to revisit that as soon as she knocked on his door, so there was no reason to do so now, with his doorman!

As the elevator reached his floor (much too fast in Lanie's opinion) she took a deep breath and stepped out. She gulped when she heard the swish of the elevator doors shutting behind her. There really was no way out now. Well, that wasn't true. There were many ways she could get out of this, but no logical reason she could give to Kate as to why she didn't do it.

She was walking toward Esposito's door when a voice behind her stopped her in her tracks. "Why, my stars, is that you Lanie Parish!"

Lanie briefly closed her eyes before she turned around. "Yes, Miss Jo, it's me."

"I've missed you around here, honey," Miss Jo told her.

Lanie stifled her laugh. As much as Miss Jo loved to talk, Lanie loved this woman. She had wispy, white hair and reminded Lanie of a grandmother. She loved to get in everyone's business and that was why Lanie wasn't too anxious to talk to her right now. On the other hand, if she didn't say much Miss Jo would only keep bugging her. "What do you mean? I've been around."

"You weren't here last night," Miss Jo reminded her.

"Javier wasn't here last night," Lanie reminded the woman.

"Oh, yes," Miss Jo seemed to remember. "I saw those nasty bruises on his neck. How did he get them?"

Lanie sighed. She wasn't about to tell Miss Jo what really happened, so she quickly sent her brain into overdrive. She knew it had to be close enough to the truth to not be suspicious, but far enough away so Miss Jo wouldn't suspect what really happened. She tried to decide what Esposito would say in a time like this. "He just got into a little fight."

"If those bruises were any indication, you must have gotten pretty frustrated with him," Miss Jo said. She hated these evasive answers that the two were determined to give her. "It looked like you were trying to strangle him!"

Lanie's eyes got wide at what Miss Jo was implying. "Whoa! Miss Jo, we didn't fight with each other! I don't even have any markings on me. How could you think he could come out with bruises if I came out with nothing?"

Miss Jo shrugged. "He's always been a gentleman, I'm sure he would never think of hitting a girl. But you say the fight wasn't with you? You're sure?"

Lanie smiled at Miss Jo. "Positive."

"Good," Miss Jo approved. Well, that ruled out one possibility. "Too many kids these days get into fights, break up and never see each other again. I would hate for that to happen to you two. You're just so cute together."

Lanie's throat got tight. They did break up and if she wasn't here, they probably wouldn't have seen each other again, except for work. The only difference was they didn't have a fight.

"Miss Jo, are you harassing her again?" Javier Esposito's voice came from behind Lanie.

Lanie whirled her head around and slightly smiled when she saw Esposito coming toward them. She swallowed heavily at the ugly purple markings on his neck and smile faded from her lips. Yesterday they had bandages over them and she hadn't seen them, now that she was seeing them…she turned her head back to Miss Jo.

"Now, Javier Esposito, I was not harassing her!" Miss Jo defended herself. "I was just telling her how nice it was to see her and I was trying to figure out what happened to you."

"I told you I got into a little fight," Esposito told Miss Jo. When Lanie heard that she smiled. It seemed she did a good job of thinking like Esposito. Lanie's eyes slightly widened. What did that mean? It was probably one of those reasons Kate would use to say they're serious.

"I know, that's what she said," Miss Jo admitted. "But I don't believe either of you."

"Why would we lie to you, Miss Jo?" Lanie asked, coming into the conversation.

"Oh I can think of plenty of reasons," Miss Jo told them.

Lanie and Esposito couldn't help it; they had to smile at each other. Their shared smile almost wasn't awkward.

Miss Jo smiled at the two. She could figure out what happened some other time, from some other visitor, since it seemed these two weren't going to tell her anything. "Alright, I'll give the interrogation a rest. In fact, I won't question you all again." Miss Jo's face took on a mysterious look. "I'll just ask someone else." With that she turned around and walked back into her apartment.

Lanie and Esposito were walking back to his when Esposito apologized. "I really am sorry about her. She's much too nosy for her own good."

Lanie shrugged as she stepped into his apartment. "I like her. She reminds me of a grandmother. But yes, she is rather nosy."

Lanie couldn't help but smile at the normalcy of it all. He hadn't greeted her with a kiss like he normally did, but that was the only thing that was different about this interaction. If she didn't think about it, it was almost like they were still together. She knew though, that they weren't, and she knew she wanted to be.

Esposito turned to close the door and had to wonder what she was doing here. Didn't she, just yesterday, tell him she couldn't do this anymore? Didn't she, just yesterday, basically break up with him? If that was the case, what was she doing here? He took a deep breath. When he had first stepped out of the apartment and heard her talking to Miss Jo, he was sure he was hearing things. When he saw her, he was sure he was hallucinating, but when she turned, looked and smiled at him, it was all he could do to not run over to her and kiss her right then and there. Of course, that would have been ridiculous, they weren't together anymore. He sighed. He really needed to figure out what they were doing here, because if they weren't together anymore, if there was no chance, he needed to do something about these feelings he had.

Esposito turned and looked Lanie in the eye. "Lanie, what are you doing here?"

_ Hmm…how does he feel about her being there? And don't forget Kate and Castle! I am in love with Alexis and although I try to fit her into every story I write, I love Martha too, and she really just seemed better in that part, Alexis wouldn't have fit there. Also, the next chapter will be a talk…or two, depending on how inspired I get. Probably Caskett, but we'll see. Okay, now you know what to do…review! _


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Do you still think I own these characters? _

_ A/N: Here's the next chapter, if you are still with me. I know it's been a long time coming, but I think I have the next chapter mapped out, and if that's the case, I can probably get it up before this week is out and my spring break is over. I'm keeping my fingers crossed the dialogue will cooperate! Oh, and something else, this chapter is completely Caskett. There is no Lanie/Esposito in here…but that means the next chapter will be all Lanie/Esposito fluff. If you don't like Caskett, you don't have to read, I don't think you'll miss anything…but I think you should read it! Enjoy! _

Kate cautiously knocked on the door of Castle's study. She didn't hear the tapping of keys on his laptop so she figured for the time being he was taking a break.

"Come in," Castle called when he heard someone knock on his door. He figured it was Alexis so he began to speak, "I have the rough draft for you, honey, but I'm not sure…" Castle trailed off when he actually saw who it was. "Kate!"

"You finished your book?" Kate asked.

"What?" Castle questioned, then remembered what he was saying before he realized her identity. "Oh, no! I finished a chapter. Alexis demands on reading them before I send them to Gina. Besides, she's a better spell and grammar check than Microsoft!"

"So, that's why you're not writing?" Kate inferred. "You finished a chapter?"

"Well, I'm actually not writing because writer's block has set in," Castle admitted. "Maybe now that you're here, you can help me!"

Kate let a half smile appear, but didn't answer.

"Great!" Castle exclaimed, encouraged by the slight curling of her lips. "I was just about to write a sex scene!"

At that, Kate couldn't help it, she laughed out loud. "You were not!"

"How do you know?" Castle asked. "You have no idea what I wanted to put in the next chapter!"

Kate raised her eyebrows with a smirk on her face. "Your mind is in the gutter too much for you to ever be blocked on a sex scene."

"Oh, ouch!" Castle cried, putting a hand to his chest. "Detective, you wound me! I think I'm bleeding from the knife that was just stabbed in my heart!"

"Oh my gosh, Dad!" Alexis groaned, walking into the study and hearing the conversation from the door that was still open. "And you call Grams the drama queen. I think that just beat her by a mile!"

Castle opened his mouth again, but Alexis stopped him. "Please, don't do it again! Being a drama queen is not the way to impress a woman. At least, not a woman like Detective Beckett."

Castle's eyes widened and so did Kate's. Alexis almost seemed shocked at herself for what she had said. "Well, I definitely didn't mean to blurt that out, but now that I did…oh well. Hand me the draft, Dad. I'll be your little spell checker and then I'm off to hang out with Ashley. I won't come back in when I'm finished so you two can have some privacy to talk. Just remember…well, I will be home tonight and I don't want to see anything that suggests you two…I think you get the picture." Alexis took the draft from Castle's desk and dashed upstairs. A small grin was on her lips at the shocked face she had gotten out of Kate, but especially her dad. Even though it was all in good fun, she didn't need to hear him freak out when he was able to process what she said. She was also thankful Kate was here, because she was sure Kate wouldn't let him follow Alexis just yet and Alexis hoped when they finished talking, she would be the last thing on her father's mind. Besides, she was all for her dad and Kate dating and if her little slip could cause that, more power to her.

She began to read her father's draft with a critical eye. She smiled as she read the words and got caught up in the story. She didn't understand how Kate couldn't see that this alternate universe between Heat and Rook was everything that Castle wanted to happen between him and Kate. She marked an error with her red pen and in her mind crossed her fingers. As much as Alexis loved Nikki Heat, she would vote for Castle to give Heat up in a second, as long as he could have Kate Beckett.

-%

An awkward silence invaded Castle's study. After Alexis' departure, Kate couldn't find it in her to say anything. She knew she should, after all, Alexis had just brought up the reason Kate was here. Before Kate could think of something to say, Castle had to open his mouth.

"My daughter…she can sometimes get caught up in fantasies that she spins…" Castle drifted off. He didn't really know how to explain that while he wasn't trying to _impress_ Kate necessarily, it wouldn't be such a bad thing if he did.

"Just like her father," Kate teased, a little disappointed that he was insinuating he didn't want to impress her, he didn't feel anything for her.

"I suppose that's true," Castle said, a small smile on his face.

Kate couldn't take it anymore. She was going to do what she came here to do, possibly be humiliated and then get on with her life. "Can I ask you a question?" She didn't wait for permission, she just plunged ahead. "If you don't feel anything for me, why did you feel the need to kiss me last night?"

Castle's eyes got wider. Of all the things Kate could say, that was last on his list of expectations. He blinked a few times before he could think of a suitable answer. "It…It was for cover."

Kate pressed her lips together and nodded. "Alright then."

She turned around and began to walk towards the door. When Castle realized she was going to leave, he was up and out of his chair faster than a ninja. He grabbed her wrist. "Wait! Is that not what you wanted to hear?"

Kate looked at him and wrinkled her forehead, confused. "What?"

"I told you it was for cover because I thought that was what you wanted me to say," Castle admitted.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Castle, when have you ever said something just because I wanted you to? You have never listened to me, why would you care about what I want right now?"

Castle shook his head lightly. "Kate…I don't listen when you tell me to stay in the car because you might need me. I don't listen when you tell me not to ask questions because I honestly think my question might help your investigation. If it's something important, you know I listen."

"My mom's case," Kate began.

"That is something I regret more than you will ever know," Castle said, cutting her off. "I was curious and I wanted to know, I wanted to help you. After you told me not to look into it, I already had and then…well, I couldn't stop."

Kate looked into his eyes and saw nothing but sincerity there. "Why did you kiss me?"

Castle took her hand and noticed a bit of shock, fear and nervousness flit through her hazel eyes, but he continued to look at them and didn't loosen his grip. "It was too early for you to pull the gun on the guy. It was completely for cover, but the second kiss, the one that you initiated…wasn't. I didn't stop it because it helped deter the guy, but I also wanted it to never end. It was…amazing! The way you knocked the guy out was amazing, but what I was referring to when that comment was made was the kiss. It would be even more amazing if you would let it happen again, sooner rather than later."

Kate tried to school her lips into staying in the neutral position they had been in since he began his little speech. "Really? You're a writer and the only word you could come up with is amazing? You've used the same word three times already! I really thought you, of all people, could think of something better."

Castle couldn't help but let his mouth curl into a smile. Those four sentences told him he had given a good answer and she enjoyed the kiss. He might be jumping to conclusions here, but he also thought she might want to let him kiss her again and let them do this thing right. "Do you need something better?"

Kate sighed in mock exasperation. "Well, if you can't think of anything, I guess not."

Suddenly their lips were fused together. It was questionable who initiated the kiss but both knew it didn't really matter. It was also questionable who moaned first, but as long as they both did, again, it didn't really matter. Their tongues were engaged in quite a heated dance and hands were roaming when they were suddenly interrupted.

"Whoa!" the red head at the door gasped as her hands quickly covered her eyes, her dad's draft falling to the floor making a fluttering sound as the pages scattered. "I know I said I wouldn't come back, but after reading the chapter I wanted to come get the other one so I could check some continuity issues. I really didn't think you would be this far yet."

Kate and Castle had jumped apart and after Alexis finished explaining her unexpected appearance she peeked through her hands to make certain it was safe for her to remove her hands. After she did, she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

Kate apologized to Alexis as well. "No, I'm sorry."

"Did you want that other chapter, Alexis?" Castle asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Yeah, there might be some continuity issues here…along with some grammar issues," Alexis explained. "Jeez, Dad, I don't know what you did before I was able to check these chapters for you!"

"I had an editor," Castle told her. "But you give me a much better deal than she ever did."

Alexis walked over to the printer to grab the pages. "We are going to have to talk about that. If I am going to keep doing this you are going to have to start paying me! We'll talk about prices later! Right now I'd better let you two get back to…well, this time I won't be coming in again, trust me!"

After Alexis left, Castle sighed. "She wants money?"

"They do grow up, Castle," Kate pointed out. "Now…where were we?"

Castle stopped her from meshing their lips together again. "I was just about to pull away."

Kate narrowed her eyes at him. "That's definitely NOT what I wanted to hear."

Castle chuckled. "I know, but this time, I'm telling the truth. I'm glad Alexis interrupted us, because I knew we needed to stop if we didn't want this to get out of hand just yet."

Kate raised her eyebrows in question.

"Kate," Castle said. "I know with Heat and Rook I had them jump into bed first, but I don't want it to be like that with us. I want to take you out to dinner, I want to go on dates…"

"Are you going to try to wine and dine me?" Kate asked, a bit unnerved. "I don't really need all that."

"But you deserve it," Castle countered. "And when we finally…make love, I want it to be because we both are ready for it. This is real, Kate, and I'm not going to mess it up by letting us go too fast."

Kate cocked her head slightly, secretly letting warmth fill her at his not calling it sex. "You don't seem like the type to want to go slow, Castle. In fact, have you ever gone slow before?"

"It has never been real before," Castle told her. "I have never wanted something as much. I have never been with such an extraordinary woman."

Kate closed her eyes as she felt her cheeks get red. She wished she wouldn't blush every time he said something sweet, because it usually happened at the most inopportune times.

Castle decided to take this chance and initiate a kiss. After all, her eyes were already closed.

After a few minutes of serious kissing, Kate pulled back. "I thought you didn't want this to go too far too fast?"

"Do you remember me saying I had anything against kissing?" Castle asked.

Kate rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop her smile. "I guess I don't remember you saying anything like that."

With that admission, they both went back to kissing. In fact, when Alexis peeked in a few minutes later to make sure they didn't need her assistance, she was certain they didn't, as they were still engaged in each other.

Alexis left the house and in the cab on the way to Ashley's, she pulled out her phone. _They have finally came to their senses, Grams_.

A few minutes later, her phone beeped with a text from her grandmother. _I'll drink to that!_

Alexis shook her head smiling, knowing that wherever her grandmother was, she probably would do just that.

_If you are still with me and read, thanks! If you liked, review! If you didn't, review anyway please! I'm not sure the ending was completely necessary, but for what it's worth…I liked it! Did you? Review, please! _


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I still don't own. No characters were hurt in the process of making this story, I promise. _

_ A/N: And here it is, what you've all been waiting for, Lanie and Esposito. They might get back together and they might not. You're interested, right? I know I am. Forgive me for any mistakes, I don't have a beta…I hope there aren't any horrible ones. Read, read read! And enjoy! _

_Previously on _The Consequences: _Esposito turned and looked Lanie in the eye. "Lanie, what are you doing here?" _

Lanie swallowed nervously. That question didn't sound very welcoming. Then again, maybe he wasn't trying to be rude, maybe he was just honestly wondering about her motives. In all fairness, if this was her she knew she would be. She walked over to his couch. "I thought maybe we could talk."

Esposito raised his eyebrows while following her. He did _not_ want to talk about this. "About what?"

It was Lanie's turn to raise her eyebrows. "Really?"

"I can't imagine what there is left to say," Esposito said, a bit of anger and sadness lacing his voice.

"There's nothing left to say," Lanie admitted. "There are many things that need to be corrected though."

Esposito didn't say anything. He was going to wait for her. He noticed, though, that Lanie didn't need him to say anything more. She seemed to be trying to gather up courage to say something. Even though Esposito was nervous about waiting, her last sentence didn't suggest more bad news and he wasn't sure his heart could be damaged much further anyway (God, he sounded like such a girl).

"I really thought I could do it, you know," Lanie began in a soft voice, her head directed toward the carpet. "I really thought it would be easy. I didn't think I would resort to the classic cliché with ice cream and _An Affair to Remember_. I was above doing that. I'm not that girl. But today, I find myself sitting on the couch, eating ice cream and watching that movie. I was _never_ that girl, but now, after you, all of a sudden I am.

"I tried to convince myself it would work. I tried to convince myself it was for the best. I had these great arguments to justify everything I did the other night. Then, Kate comes in and suddenly my arguments don't seem so strong anymore. Suddenly, they're gone altogether. I can't remember what I'm fighting anymore. I can't even remember why I thought breaking up with you would be a smart idea.

"Then I get here and see the bruises on your neck and right away, I remember. I know why I had to break up with you and I know why I said we couldn't do this anymore." Lanie finally looked up at him. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm scared, Javi. God, am I scared."

"What are you scared of, Lanie?" Esposito asked.

Lanie closed her eyes and was again looking down at the ground, although she wasn't seeing it at the moment (he always used to call her querida and she noticed its glaring absence from his last sentence). "I'm scared of you not always being fine. I'm scared you will get seriously hurt, or worse. You can't end up on my table, you just _can't_! I don't think I would be able to handle it. I know I couldn't handle it. I'm scared I'm going to lose you—I could have lost you—and the panic I feel when I think about that scares me. That fear led me to make rash decisions and horrible mistakes yesterday. And I'm scared you're thinking about what an idiot I am right now, which you have every right to be thinking, and I'm scared that we won't be able to fix this. Unfortunately, I'm scared I wouldn't be able to handle that either."

After her mini monologue, Lanie felt tears pricking the backs of her eyes, so she squeezed them shut again. She had already humiliated herself in front of Esposito making herself so vulnerable like that and she wasn't about to add to that by letting the tears loose. Besides, she wasn't going to be crying again today, not if she could help it. There had been too much of that already!

Esposito didn't know what to say. He had never heard Lanie sound like this before. She was the sassy, kick-ass M.E. and before today he had never thought she was afraid of anything. There was something he was still confused about though. "Why didn't you talk to me about this, instead of holding it all in and just randomly breaking up with me?"

"I thought I could handle it," Lanie told him. "I really didn't think it would be this hard. I thought we were just fooling around."

Esposito winced. Was that really all it was to her? He had told himself before this began not to get too attached and he had. "Lanie…"

Lanie shook her head. "It was more than fooling around, but I thought if I kept telling myself that's all it was then it would be easier. It wasn't."

Esposito tried to hide his smirk. "Okay. I don't understand how breaking up with me though was going to help. If we still had these feelings, you were still going to be hurt if you lost me and you were still going to be the M.E."

"I know," Lanie admitted. "I told you I made rash decisions. I'm sure it made sense in my head when I thought about it. Besides, I figured if we broke up we could have a chance to find someone else and maybe let these feelings diminish. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that wouldn't work either. Any other girl you were with…especially if she was a beautiful model or actress from Castle, I would want to claw her eyes out."

Esposito's eyebrows rose again. Yes, this woman had fire in her, which was half the reason he loved her, but clawing some girl's eyes out. This was some intense stuff! He wondered if she knew he thought she was twenty times more beautiful than any model or actress Castle could scrounge up. Then he thought about her statement for a minute. "Wait, do you only want to be with me so some other girl can't?"

Lanie rolled her eyes, she couldn't help it. "Of course not! I can't believe you would even think that!"

"What am I supposed to think?" Esposito asked loudly. He was annoyed that she had the nerve to act appalled. She was the one initiating all of this. He had been confused about everything that was going on since she set foot inside his hospital room. "Yesterday, I'm in the hospital wondering why the hell you broke up with me and today you're sitting here telling me you were just kidding and you want to get back together. It doesn't work like that! You don't get to jerk me around!"

"I know it doesn't work like that and I wasn't trying to jerk you around," Lanie assured him quietly. She was afraid it might turn out like this. Javier was the Hispanic hothead, damn passionate about anything and everything. She knew this wouldn't be easy and she figured the only thing she could do was apologize. She was in the wrong and she knew it. "I'm sorry. I'm just saying…I was wrong, I was an idiot and…" Lanie shrugged. "I _would_ like to give us another chance if you want."

Esposito wanted to say what was on his mind. Everything needed to be out in the open if they were going to do this. He wasn't necessarily angry anymore, but he wasn't exactly calm either. "Okay, so what happens if I get hurt again and you get scared again? Are we going to have to go through all of this every time something happens to me?"

"No," Lanie said. "I had built up this nice little bubble and after you got abducted and hurt, the bubble burst. Nothing like this had every happened to you before and I always thought if it did…you would be able to get out of it. You are amazing in every situation and you have had _so much_ training. I guess in my bubble, you were invincible. I realized you weren't and it really shook me."

Esposito thought about that for a second. He supposed it made sense. He did try to act invincible all the time and he did have lots of training before he moved to work with Kate. He spent most of his time in the ghettos before Kate and he had to know how to defend himself. Esposito slowly nodded. "And you want us to get back together?"

"Yes," Lanie said quietly. "But only if you can forgive me for being such a horrible jerk and if _you_ want to get back together."

"I can, I have and I do," Esposito told her.

"Really?" Lanie asked, her head shooting up from its resident position staring at the floor.

Esposito couldn't help it, he had to smile at her surprised reaction. "Really." He stood up from his sitting position on the couch and offered her his hands. When she had accepted and put her hands in his he used his leverage to pull her off the couch. He smiled the smile he saved just for her and Lanie had to grip his hands tighter; that smile always made her knees feel a little too much like Jell-O. His smile morphed into a smirk and Lanie's eyes narrowed. He knew exactly what he was doing to her.

Suddenly, Lanie bit her lip and furrowed her brow. "It can't be this easy."

Esposito smiled at Lanie's wrinkled brow, used his finger to pull her bottom lip from between her teeth and brushed his lips across hers in a feather-light caress. That statement, he could reply to immediately. "It is, as long as you promise me that if you ever get scared again you'll talk to me first, before deciding we need to break up. I guarantee we will try to fix the problem together, but if you don't talk to me there is no way this will ever work."

Lanie shifted her weight and brought her arms up to loop around his neck. "I promise," she softly whispered.

Lanie's warm breath tickling his chin is what did him in. He captured her lips with his and two seconds hadn't passed before he was requesting entrance into her mouth. She, of course, gave it without a second's hesitation. Kissing Esposito was one of the most enjoyable things she had ever engaged in. There were more enjoyable things to do with him though and Lanie wanted to get on to that. When she began to slowly unbutton his shirt he pulled away from her lips with one last, sensual kiss and locked his eyes with hers.

Lanie was not stupid. She recognized the look and her fingers immediately stilled mid button. She put a finger over his lips, not letting him say it just yet. "In Spanish," she requested.

Esposito raised one eyebrow in a silent question.

Lanie removed her finger from his lips, replacing it lightly with her lips for just a ghost of a kiss. "It's still important and I will know what you are saying, but it won't scare me as much."

Esposito smiled and stroked his knuckles down her cheek. "I can wait."

Lanie smiled at him. "I know you can, but you don't have to. I know you want to say it. Also…I kind of want to hear it. I'm just not ready to hear it in English yet. Is that weird?"

Esposito shook his head. He understood. He brought her lips down to hers and kissed her fiercely. He gently tugged his lips away for her warm ones and peppered kisses across her jaw toward her ear. When he reached her ear he gently nibbled on the lobe and then whispered, "Te amo, quierda."

Lanie felt a shiver go down her spine. Her eyes were already closed and the words didn't make them shoot open as she thought they might have. Even though she was expecting them, she was a bit worried that they would still scare her. She smiled when she realized how calm she felt, even after the admission. "Thank you."

Esposito dragged his mouth back across her jaw and to her lips. He kissed her again, pouring the emotions he just expressed into the kiss. Lanie couldn't help it, she felt another shiver run down her spine. This one was accented with anticipation of things to come.

Lanie began to push him back, keeping their lips connected, toward the direction of the doorway. She had to get them to the bedroom! Esposito complied easily, knowing what she was doing, but not wanting the break the kiss for confirmation. He shifted his hands up slightly, from their resting place on her hips, so his thumbs could reach under her shirt and caress the smooth skin of her abdomen.

Lanie pulled back from the kiss reluctantly and gave Esposito a warning look. She was not about to let their make-up sex happen up against one of the walls in his hallway. This was going to happen on his bed and the purpose of the look was to let him know that!

Esposito smiled wickedly, but rolled his eyes in agreement. He supposed this would be more enjoyable where she wanted them to end up anyway. He brought his lips back to her ear and after he succumbed to the temptation of bringing teeth and tongue to her earlobe for a few pleasurable seconds he whispered, "Tu ganas. Te amo, chica."

Lanie wondered if he was going to tell her he loved her a lot now. At the same time though, she found that as long as he didn't flaunt it at work, she honestly didn't care. She flicked the back of his head and when he pulled back to look at her she tilted her head up so their lips would meet again. Just because she didn't want to have sex here in the hallway did _not_ mean they couldn't kiss on their way to the bedroom.

_Well, what did you think? Were you pleased with the way they got back together. I'm a bit proud of this chapter, but if it left something, anything, to be desired, please let me know and I'll try to fix it. I'm a bit afraid the ending of this chapter was too much, but hopefully you all liked it. Tu ganas means you win (I think). If any of you are good at Spanish, you can so correct me…I kind of suck at it! Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought. _


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: Nope, if I owned, the show would never go on summer breaks…but it definitely wouldn't be as amazing as it is. _

_A/N: Well, here it is, the very last chapter! Wow, all my WIP's are finished…I don't believe it. If you read this story and enjoyed it, I'm so very happy that I was able to provide you with a bit of entertainment. If you left me a review at any time over the course of this story, I send you showers of thanks! And here's the last chapter…I hope you enjoy! _

"Well?" Lanie asked Kate the next morning.

"I can tell it went well on your end," Kate said. "If it hadn't, there is no way you would be here, much less be this cheerful."

Lanie rolled her eyes. "I know how it went with me. I want to know how it went with you! Is Castle as good in bed as everyone says he is?"

Kate wrinkled her nose, thinking about the 'everyone' Lanie could be talking about. "I wouldn't know."

"What do you mean, you wouldn't know?" Lanie asked, slightly mocking her friend. "I know things went well, so why don't you know?"

Kate shrugged. "We didn't have sex."

"What?" Lanie shouted in disbelief. "You finally get together with Writer Boy and you don't even have sex with him?"

Kate squeezed her eyes shut. She was not about to open them and see the many eyes that were sure to be directed at their table. "Geez, Lanie, do you have to shout my business?"

Lanie glanced around and did see other's staring at their table. "Sorry, girl. I'm just surprised, that's all."

"Me too, honestly," Kate told her friend. "Castle said he wanted to take it slow."

Lanie's eyebrows raised, almost of their own violation. "He wanted to go slow? Castle!"

Kate shrugged. "That's what he said. He said he wanted to do this thing right, because it's never been real before. Besides, his daughter was coming home and so was his mother for that matter. We are never having sex in that house, unless his daughter and mother do not have the option of walking in on us."

Lanie smiled. "How do his daughter and mother feel about all this? You and him?"

Kate shifted in her seat. "Well, Martha knew about our kiss and actually encouraged me to talk to him. I think she approves…at least I hope she does. As for Alexis, well, she's over the moon. When we watched a movie last night she asked how much I liked her dad and if I was planning on making him my 'one and done.'"

Lanie barked out a laugh. "I can see Alexis saying something like that. What did you say?"

"Luckily I didn't have to say anything," Kate said. "Castle came in at that moment, and saved me from answering. I assume Alexis thought she would get to me later, but she fell asleep before the movie was over and Castle woke her up and got her up to bed after. I think she forgot."

"I expect she won't forget for long," Lanie predicted.

"Probably not," Kate agreed. "I have thought about it though. When she asks, I'll tell her the truth."

"Which is?" Lanie prompted.

"Which is," Kate repeated. "I'm not sure if I want to be with Castle for the rest of my life, but I definitely want to try being with him, and we'll see how it goes."

Lanie nodded. "Good."

Kate was getting ready to ask Lanie about her night, when the ringing of her phone cut her off. She looked at Lanie apologetically, because she had to answer. Then her eyes narrowed as the ringing of her phone was suddenly the theme song to _Temptation Lane_. She didn't know when or how Castle found that song, but she knew it was him.

"I'm going to kill you," Kate said when she answered the phone.

Castle ignored her threat and asked a question. "Would you be terribly mad if we didn't go out tonight?"

Kate's brow wrinkled. "What?"

"I was planning on taking you out tonight, to a very quiet restaurant where the press wouldn't find us," Castle explained. "Alexis, though, was disappointed when I told her because she said last night we ordered in, and she wanted you to try her famous lasagna."

"That's fine," Kate assured the man on the other end of the line. "We can totally stay in tonight. I'd hate to disappoint Alexis and I'm sure her lasagna is amazing."

"She learned the recipe from my mother, so we'll see," Castle said quietly.

Kate laughed when she heard a shouted, "I resent that…and so does she!" from another part of the house. She knew it was Alexis and she knew Alexis meant for her to hear it. She was also pretty sure Castle had voiced his comment just loud enough so Alexis could hear him, but soft enough so she would think he was trying to be sneaky. She loved being with that family.

"So, I'll see you later tonight at the loft?" Castle asked. "And you're sure it's okay?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "It's fine. I really have to go now, I'm at brunch with Lanie."

"Okay," Castle agreed. "Tell her I said hi."

Kate smiled. "I will. Bye, Castle."

When she hung up, she noticed Lanie was smirking at her. "What?" Kate asked.

Lanie shook her head, choosing to not answer.

"Castle says hi," Kate told Lanie. "Now, without giving me too much information about Esposito, how did your night go?"

"Well, his nosy neighbor, Miss Jo, smirked at me when I left his apartment today," Lanie told Kate. "She was out getting groceries, I'm just glad she didn't ask me to help her carry in bags. I would've never gotten out of there."

Kate laughed. She had heard stories about this neighbor. She had heard that Miss Jo was a sweet old lady, who was just a bit too nosy and talkative at times. "Well, that's very amusing," Kate said. "But that doesn't tell me anything about your night. I know more than sex happened." Kate tried not to show any discomfort saying that, although it was very disconcerting to think of Esposito and Lanie getting it on.

"Well," Lanie stalled. "He told me he loved me."

"What?" Kate cried, the same way Lanie had done earlier.

"In Spanish," Lanie finished.

"That's even better," Kate said, smirking.

"I told him to say it in Spanish," Lanie revealed.

Kate's face took on a bewildered look. "Okay, now I'm confused."

Lanie shrugged. "I knew he wanted to say it and I knew I wanted to hear it, but I was scared. I didn't want to think about what him saying this would mean, so I asked him to say it in Spanish. It didn't scare me as much that way."

Kate cocked her head in thought. "Did you ever think that maybe him saying it in English wouldn't have scared you either?"

"What?" Lanie questioned.

"Well, maybe you were just scared of being scared when you heard it, rather than being scared of the actual words," Kate mused.

"Do you even know what you just said?" Lanie inquired of her friend.

Kate narrowed her eyes playfully as the waitress brought their brunch orders. "Yes, I do. And you will too if you just think about it."

Lanie picked up her biscuit and began to put butter on it. "For some reason, I doubt that."

Kate just rolled her eyes and changed the subject. They spent the rest of their brunch talking about the outfits they had seen on the way to brunch, the shoes Kate was thinking about buying and the dress Lanie was trying to justify getting, remarking that Esposito would definitely love it. That earned another eye roll from Kate and a wrinkling of her nose, which made Lanie laugh out loud and decide she needed to get that reaction from Kate more often; it was priceless.

-%

Lanie was sitting on Esposito's couch chewing on her lip. She had been thinking about what Kate said, and Kate was right, it did make sense when she thought about it. Was she just scared of being scared? Those three (or two, in Spanish) words didn't scare her as much as she thought they would. Besides, as she said last night, she did want to hear him say it. On the other hand though, she had never _ever_ used those three words before in relation to a man. Then again, she had never felt this way before when it came to a man. When she heard Esposito had been hurt—

"Lanie!" Esposito called.

Lanie jumped. "What?"

Esposito studied her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Lanie assured him, although she really wasn't. She had been thinking all day about how selfish she had been, wanting him to tell her he loved her, when she couldn't even say it to him. After all, he was the one who was hurt. She was the one who could've lost him! Shouldn't that mean _she_ should tell_ him_? She had almost convinced herself of that, now she just had to convince herself to do it. She was sure it was what she was feeling…Lanie just hadn't decided how to tell him yet.

Esposito raised his eyebrows, not completely believing her, but not wanting to push it. "Well, the dishes are finished; did you pick out a movie for us to watch?"

"I thought we could watch _Psycho_," Lanie told him.

"Now I know something's wrong," Esposito said. "You hate Alfred Hitchcock."

Lanie rolled her eyes. "I do not. I'm not particularly fond of all the suspense he uses, especially when nothing scary even happens after all the build up, but I don't hate his movies."

Esposito didn't look convinced. Lanie turned the movie on and scooted over closer to him. He put an arm around her shoulders out of habit and she snuggled into his side and laid her head on his shoulder. She looked up at him. "See, I don't hate Alfred Hitchcock. I might even go as far to say I love watching his movies with you." Lanie wiggled her eyebrows a few times and then turned her head back to the TV.

Esposito laughed and pressed a kiss into her hair. "I may just have a new appreciation for the old guy myself."

-%

Esposito had been right the first time. There was definitely something wrong. They had watched this movie before and Lanie usually complained. She always scoffed at Marion's stupidity in trusting Norman Bates. She always shivered the first time Norman and his mother had a conversation, that being—according to Lanie—the creepiest part of the whole movie. Then, at the end, when the mother is finally seen, Lanie always laughed, talking about the way bodies decompose and how he couldn't have had his mother there for so long and how unrealistic it was. She did appreciate the scare factor it was supposed to have, as long as you weren't an M. E.

Lanie didn't say one word throughout the whole movie and she didn't even shiver. That's how Esposito knew her mind was somewhere else and that's how he could tell something was wrong. He decided he was going to figure out what was wrong. The last time he didn't, it ended badly for both of them.

"Lanie, what's wrong?" Esposito asked, while the credits were rolling.

"Nothing," Lanie repeated, moving away from him. "Why do you keep asking?"

Esposito stopped the movie. "Because you keep lying. I know for a fact something's wrong. Your classic comments during the movie weren't made and I know you would want to get them out there if you had been focusing on the movie at all. So tell me what's going on."

"Do I have to?" Lanie questioned.

"Yes," Esposito told her.

"It's stupid," Lanie tried.

"I don't care," Esposito said. "I want to know."

Lanie chewed on her lip again, trying to think of a way to tell him.

"You aren't going to break up with me again, are you?" Esposito asked.

Lanie rolled her eyes. "No. What gave you that idea?"

"Well, you're biting your lip," Esposito said. "You always do that when you're nervous about something, and according to our conversation last night, the last time you were nervous about something when it came to our relationship was when you broke up with me."

Lanie sighed. "Well, I'm not going to do that this time."

Esposito reached for her hand. He gave it a small squeeze. "Tell me what's going on."

Lanie faced him on the couch and pulled her legs up to sit criss-cross. "I had brunch with Kate today."

"I'm assuming this has something to do with whatever's going on," Esposito guessed.

"Yes," Lanie assured him. "We were talking about her and Castle getting together—which you and I are going to talk about later—and then she asked about me and you. I told her what you said, but that you said it in Spanish. I told her why and then she asked me if I was scared of being scared or scared of the words themselves."

"What?" Esposito asked.

"I have never had a boyfriend who has told me…what you told me last night," Lanie said. "I have never said it to any of my boyfriends either. I always thought it was because I was just too scared and I figured the guy was too much of a pansy to say it if I wasn't going to say it first. I was wrong though."

"Then why?" Esposito wondered.

Lanie sighed. "It's never felt like this before, ever. When Kate called me to tell me you were hurt…God, Javi…I have never been that scared in my life. I realized I could lose you and that _scared_ me! I wasn't willing to analyze what my fear actually meant. I think that was part of the reason I broke up with you. I didn't really analyze what my fear meant last night either. This morning, after Kate asked me what I was actually scared of, I really started to analyze it."

"Okay," Esposito said. He wanted to make sure she knew he was still listening.

"I started thinking about it, and I realized how selfish I was being!" Lanie exclaimed.

"Selfish?" Esposito questioned.

"Of course!" Lanie said. "Here you are, with rope burns and bruises all over your neck and last night you're the one who said…you know. Shouldn't I be the one to say it to you? I'm the one who almost lost you!"

"I wanted to say it, querida," Esposito reminded her. "If you're not ready you don't have to. In fact, I don't want you to say it if you don't feel ready."

"Haven't you been listening to me?" Lanie questioned. "That's what I'm saying. When I thought about what everything meant, when I actually analyzed everything that happened and how I felt…that's when I knew. It's never felt like this before because it's never been like this before. I never loved anyone like this before."

"You…what?" Esposito stuttered. He hadn't been expecting that.

"I never loved anyone like this before," Lanie repeated, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Are you saying…" Esposito trailed off.

Lanie nodded. "I love you. I'm in love with you."

Esposito pulled her closer to him and kissed her deeply. He tried to pour all of his emotions into the kiss. He knew she already knew he loved her, but he wanted to show her how ecstatic he was that she finally said it. The only way he knew how to do that was to kiss her…passionately.

He pulled back when he finally needed oxygen. "Does this mean I can tell you I love you in English now?"

Lanie sighed. "If you must."

Esposito cocked his head, being very confused.

Lanie smiled with a seductive sparkle in her eye. "It's incredibly sexy when you say it in Spanish."

Esposito stood up and when Lanie followed, he swept her into his arms bridal style. Lanie gave a small surprised squeak, but then relaxed into his arms. He walked to the bedroom and while walking, he nipped on her earlobe and then soothed the bite with his tongue. Just before he kicked the bedroom door shut, he whispered in a low, husky voice, "Te amo, querida."

_ Well, that's it. The end. I hope you all liked this last chapter and it wasn't too anticlimactic (as Lanie claims Hitchcock movies are). One of my wonderful reviewers anomalymona gave me an idea to do a story where Lanie gets hurt…and I may play around with that idea a bit, if I can figure out how to spin it so it isn't repetitive of this one. Also, my inspiration kind of comes in spurts since the show is on hiatus. All mistakes are mine, hopefully they aren't horrible. Anyway, ramble over…l hope you enjoyed the story overall! Don't leave the last chapter hanging, please drop me a review and thanks for reading! _


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